Meta Platforms is the IBD Stock of the Day for Friday. The Facebook parent company's shares pulled back this week following a record-setting rally, but the stock is finding support at its 21-day exponential moving average.
Meta shed 1.6% to close at 683.55 on the stock market today. The social media giant's shares retreated about 5% from Tuesday through Thursday, putting an end to a record-setting streak of 20 days that Meta stock posted gains. A high of 707 the stock reached on Wednesday could offer an entry point if Meta bounces higher.
Even with the pullback, Meta's 19% year-to-date gain is best among the Magnificent Seven stocks.
Meta's 20-Day Winning Streak
Meta stock lost 2.8% on Tuesday, its first down day since Jan. 16. Meta stock rallied more than 20% over the course of the 20-day streak. Prior to that rally, Meta's longest steak of gains on the stock market was 11 in September 2015, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Meta's rally was helped by its fourth-quarter results posted Jan. 29, which beat expectations for earnings and sales. Investors also shrugged it off when Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta would spend $60 billion to $65 billion on capital expenditures this year, focused on AI infrastructure, well ahead of previous estimates. The sudden emergence of DeepSeek and its lower-cost AI models has made some investors uneasy about big spending for AI. But Meta appeared to get a pass.
Roth analyst Rohit Kulkarni wrote to clients that Meta is "investing from a position of strength" following the company's earnings results.
"We think investors will cheer rising AI CapEx as prospects of AI returns rise," the note added.
Analysts overall remain bullish on Meta but expect growth to slow this year against tougher comparisons. Analysts polled by FactSet project Meta's earnings per share will rise 6% to reach $25.21 per share for 2025, compared to 53% growth in 2024. Total sales for 2025 are projected to climb 14.5% to $188.4 billion, down from 22% revenue growth in 2024 and 16% growth in 2023.
Meta Stock On IBD Leaderboard
Meanwhile, Meta has an IBD Composite Rating of 98 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The score combines five separate proprietary ratings into one rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
The scores place Meta stock as the third highest ranked in Investor's Business Daily's Internet-Content group, behind only Pinterest and China-based freight app operator Full Truck Alliance.
Meta's IBD Relative Strength Rating remains solid at 91 out of 99, indicating Meta continues to outperform nearly all stocks tracked by IBD.
Meta is an IBD Leaderboard stock and on IBD's Tech Leaders and Big Cap 20 stock lists.
